The Playing Field
by mahoneybun
Summary: Bella's passion for football drives her to play for her new school's team as Charlie's nephew. But how long can she keep up the charade? And what about her growing feelings for one of her team captains and quarter-back Edward Cullen?
1. Chapter 1

Here I was again. My turf. My field. My sanctuary. This was where I could let out all of my cooped up frustrations and emotions. I could be the me that I wanted to be here, but tucked away the rest of the time. The field was where I was meant to be and there wasn't anyone that could keep me off of it. This included the director of athletics at my school.

See, apparently it wasn't deemed "appropriate" to have a girl on the high school football team no matter the abilities of said girl. The director went a step further and said quite smugly, "Girls don't play football." HAH. Well, I almost felt bad for the guy after that. Saying it nicely, he practically sealed his fate with those four words. I suppose in the heat of the conversation he forgot who my father was or maybe he honestly didn't know with this being such a big high school and all. I was usually ashamed that my dad, Charlie, was the chief of police and it nearly always came back to bite me in the butt. So, you can imagine my surprise when I realized that this was something he might actually be able to help me with. Long story short, I was able to play on the grounds of gender discrimination because the school did not offer a girl's team as an alternative.

The compromise however, was that I could no longer be Isabella Swan, the chief of police's daughter, but had to go by an alias of being Charlie's nephew from Idaho... or was it Ohio? The director didn't want to ruin the spotless reputation his football team had with a girl player and I was good enough to play so the choices were limited. Anyways, it wasn't something that would be difficult, seeing as I was relatively new to the town other than summer visits away from my mom, making me virtually unrecognizable.

The director tried to point out the difficulty this would cause me with friends and whatever social life I might have been expecting. Well, that argument wasn't difficult to deal with at all. I'm not social and the only real friends I had were mostly dead and wrote famous pieces of literature that you would rarely be able to dig my nose out of. I liked my books. They were consistent and never disappointing. But my social life wasn't important at all if I got to do what I've always wanted to do (and my friends would always be home on my shelf when I got back anyways).

School was just like the one I went to back in Phoenix so junior year was nothing different for me except for the being-a-boy factor. It was easy enough to pull off though and I forgot many times that I was acting. My lack of curves helped, obviously, and I didn't wear make-up... ever. With my normal getup of a t-shirt, jeans, and ripped chucks, I only had to wear a hat to hide my hair under and I was good to go.

My name was Brandon Swan (I found irony in the initials) and was able to go a whole two weeks without talking to anyone. This included during practice, which might I mention was a bitch! I don't usually cuss, but it really was the best way to describe the silent torture I went through under the screaming figure of coach Riddear. I was a running-back and kicker on paper, but a receiver when they needed one at practice.

It was tough work but it was all worth it for this one moment, this once in a lifetime chance, this feeling. The game was about to start as we were warming up for the first game of the season to the music blasting from the speakers. They transitioned smoothly from "Crazy Train" by Ozzy to the Fox NFL theme. As the music echoed through my helmet I couldn't help the shiver that ran through my spine. It felt like I was there with the pro's and we were about to go out for the super bowl game. I envisioned myself walking out with the old St. Louis Rams to play the Tennessee Titans in 2000. As Marshal Faulk, Isaac Bruce, and Kurt Warner were smiling down at me my neck suddenly whipped to the side and I found myself on the ground with a very sore head.

In that moment I realized what it must feel like to be hit in the head by a truck... repeatedly. Okay, so I'm being a little dramatic with that, but it hurt. As I was admiring the panoramic view of the field from my position on the ground i felt more than saw someone come up behind me and two pairs of ankles surrounded me from the front.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry... uh... 81..?! Are you okay, man?" I was asked from the person behind me in an agitated voice. I heard a muffled guffaw and knew it was one of the big guys in front of me. 'Damn he had big shoes...' "Nice Eddie! You nail the poor kid with one of your bullet passes and you don't even help him up?" the big one said practically flinging me in the other direction with just a hand-up.

'Who th-' was all I had time to think until I looked up and realized Emmett Cullen and I were chest to chest. "Sht!" I managed to scream out as my thanks before back pedaling into another wall. 'I thought I was on a field! How can I keep running into-' I barely finished thinking before- "FUGH!" The wall had been a smiling Jasper Hale and I had had enough of pinball when I backtracked into another solid force. I looked up slowly through my facemask and managed a mangled yelp through my mouth guard before flat out sprinting to the benches on the sidelines.

'Of course, who else would I have run into, but Edward effin' Cullen? What kind of quarter-back is he to hit me, anyways?!' I continued to seethe to myself. I was still brooding over the real-life pinball incident when the coach ordered me out onto the field for the kick-off.

To say I was nervous would have been an understatement as I jogged out to the field with the rest of the kick-off team. My mind was reeling, I was gonna barf from nerves, and my legs felt like jello. Terrible trio of a combination when you're about to start the first football game of your life. I remember walking up to the ball and taking my steps back to line up with the rest of the boys. "Ready on the left?" I shouted to the five boys on my left. "READY!" they shouted enthusiastically. "Ready on the right?" I followed up with the other five. "READY!!" they bellowed almost trying to out-yell the others. 'Boys...' I thought and took my first step for the ball.

My mind suddenly went blank and I felt like I was simply a spectator in my own body and had no control over my actions. I was almost on auto pilot and everything around me was absolutely quiet. Nothing went in slow motion or anything creepy and sci-fi like that, but it was just an out of body experience. As soon as that feeling registered I kicked the ball and everything swept back into place as if someone had flipped a switch back on.

My momentum from the kick propelled me forward and I ran towards where I guessed the ball was going to go. I hadn't really thought about it too much before, but as I saw four men the size of bears running towards me to create a wall I couldn't help but notice how freakin' huge they were. My instincts snapped into place and I ran from them like Indiana Jones from that boulder. As I took a quick look behind me and saw them and the receiver behind them a mere foot away I panic-strikingly tried to take my next step only to feel in catch.

I felt my stomach drop as my face was about to be re-introduced to the ground for the second time within 12 minutes tonight. My fall should have been cushioned by my pads, but just as I hit the ground I was kicked in the side and had a mammoth fall on me. I felt all my breath squeeze out of my now seemingly squished lungs. As I slowly felt the mammoth get up I felt the prickling of my eyes and that horrible feeling that you were sucking in air and it just wasn't participating with your body. They called it getting the air knocked out of you. Well eff that, I didn't get knocked, I got fucking sat on by large, extinct, pachyderms!

Seconds later I got up with the help of Emmett again who seemed thrilled to explain in great detail just how I had managed to trip the other teams' wall and receiver with my own body. I was shocked to not only hear that the supposed mammoth was just five guys I had been accidentally dog piled by, but that they had only managed to gain 20 yards after the catch. This left their offense to start on their own 32 yard line, giving our defense much more working room.

Rubbing a sore spot on my back, I turned to the scoreboard to look at what must have been at least five minutes off the clock. In big red numbers it read 1 next to quarter and 11:46 remaining. I kicked, ran, was tackled, dragged back to the sidelines, and secretly cried a little... all in 14 seconds?! This was going to be one of the longest nights of my life.

AN: So, this is my first story up here. Lemme know what you think about it and I might continue with the story. Feel free to let me know about any ideas you might have too. I love other people's insight, so don't hesitate to let me know what you're thinking. :]


	2. Chapter 2

I kicked, ran, was tackled, dragged back to the sidelines, and secretly cried a little... all in 14 seconds?! This was going to be one of the longest nights of my life.

I sat down on the medical table they had on the sidelines to be inspected by the athletic trainer. My reluctant pleas were no good with her however. "Well you're gonna have some major bruising around your ribs and possibly lower back," she explained while probing and poking my side. "But if you feel alright then I'll just expect you to play on the safe side tonight and ice it when you get home." She was able to yell out the last part while I was jogging back to coach to tell him I was approved to play again tonight.

Sure I was hurting, but it was still a big game for us and I had worked too hard these past weeks during practice to not play again tonight.

I made my way back down the line of players to stand next to some of the JV guys. I found myself hanging around with them more than varsity players simply because I could talk less around the JV guys. They were so wrapped up in bragging about their accomplishments all the time that I went largely un-noticed by most of them. One that did notice me though, was a freshman named Seth Clearwater. He was a little quiet like me, but when you got him talking about football his whole face would just light up and you couldn't shut him up for hours. I liked him though. He knew when I needed someone to talk to about my crappy playing that day or when I really had no desire to relive my mess-ups.

He turned towards me and got that huge-ass goofy smile on his face that could only mean one thing… "Brandon, my man! You got freakin' annihilated back there by the 60's and 70's! Those numbers just didn't agree with you huh?" he gleefully referred to my pachyderm incident. "No, I suppose they didn't. But I stopped em' at the 32, so I'll be damned if anyone brings that up again when I took the martyr route." I was able to spit out as coach waved me over.

Our defense had done their job well and the other team was forced to punt on their first drive of the game. I was going in on the play right after our team returned the punt so I had to stretch a little to keep from cramping. As I was stretching my calves a pair of cleats were suddenly in my line of vision and I had to take a deep breathe before coming up from my stretch.

Edward Cullen was standing before me with a smirk that made me want to pound his arrogant little head and then kiss him til' he passed out. It was an odd feeling that I sure as hell couldn't make sense of.

"So, you feelin' up for this…? …Swan?" he asked. I had not missed the small movement of his neck stretching around to read the back of my jersey better. I let out an exasperated sigh before answering. It's not like arrogant ass holes like QB Cullen ever knew the names of players that were around them all day, every day, right?! "I'm up for anything you can throw at me Cullen. Just try to remember that I'm not Black, I run, he catches. You kinda forgot that during warm-ups." I replied with a sneer. I probably shouldn't have been so rude, but it wouldn't kill him to remember a four-letter name like Swan.

He didn't seem to take that too lightly and was about to say something when the whistle blew and coach Riddear yelled for us to get back on the field. I took my place to the left of Edward where I was positioned for this play. We were starting the game off with a trick handoff to me where I would pretend to have the ball and sprint right into a teeny B gap while Edward passed to Jacob Black about 30 yards down the field on the right side. This was a play we had practically perfected in the weeks before and was incredibly hard to read for the opponents' defense.

The ball was hiked and Edward let the ball graze my arm before I went head first into the now almost non-existent B gap. But that was why I was chosen for this position instead of someone faster or stronger like Jasper or Jacob. I managed to squeeze my way into the gap and stayed there to allow more time for the defense to believe I had the ball. I was jostled around between a few 200lb+ guys and wrested my way out of the pile of bodies once the whistle blew. I looked up to see what had become of our play and was satisfied to see that Jacob had made it to the 3 yd line.

The team huddles up and waited for Jasper to get back with the next play. "Hey Swan! Uhm… good fake back there." Edward congratulated and awkwardly patted my shoulder. I looked up to give him a smart-ass reply when I found myself just looking at his eyes. The light from the fluorescents on the field made his eyes sparkle to an almost peridot color. Just looking at his eyes I got a shiver down my spine that I was sure had nothing to do with the cold air and sweat. A small part of my mind took this time to register that he was less than 6 inches from me and in that moment my eyes betrayed me to look at his lips.

A bang went off in my helmet and I must have jumped 3 feet in the air. "Yo, Swan, you're not a little jumpy after that academy award winning performance back there are you?" Jasper teased coming back with the next play after what had felt like hours. I looked over to see Edward shaking his head back and forth like a dog with water in its ears and I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me.

He gave me a worried glance after breaking up the huddle. What was he worried about? I knew this play and I was plenty able to get a touchdown, so what was wrong with him?

The ball was snapped and I knew that something was up when our eyes didn't connect before the handoff. As I was rushing towards the A gap his arm brushed mine in a very sloppy handoff that I almost dropped. I wanted to yell at him for such carelessness and have him brush his arm up mine like that again, all at the same time. These feelings were getting out of control and needed to stop if I wanted to make it through the wall of muscle and fat to get the touchdown.

I was amazingly able to trip my way through the A gap and stretch my body enough to pass the line into the end zone. Lying on the ground I got that same out of body experience from before. Everything was absolutely quiet while my teammates were jumping around celebrating the first touchdown of the season. When someone started dragging me up, I was already ready to see the sparkling eyes of Edward Cullen. However, the eyes I met were a dark squishy kind of brown. Jacob Black had picked me up to point me over to where the special teams coach had my kicking block.

'Oh shit! I have to kick now too?' I jogged back from the lines with my tee and saw Edward ready to hold the ball. I got this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was sure had nothing to do with nerves. I placed the tee next to him and lightly brushed his shoulder pad coming back up. As I took two steps back and two to the left I watched his expressions change from shock, to embarrassment, to confusion, and then something else that he was on right now that I couldn't read. The invisible switch went off again and everything went blank until I felt the ball under my foot. The ball soared through the uprights and I found myself being crowded and smacked on the helmet by the nine other teammates that were on the field. Edward just smirked and headed back to the sidelines.

I went to follow when Emmett pulled me back to my senses to inform me that I had the kickoff kick to perform before I got back to the sidelines. I managed to do my part and get off the field without getting trampled over this time. Once I was on the sidelines I sought out Edward for some reason that even I didn't know. 'Maybe I can ask him about a play or something… yea, that works. Wait, then what am I really looking for him for?' I stopped in my tracks as I realized that I was just looking for Edward, for the sake of finding him. I had nearly given up my invisible search when I felt someone's breath on the back of my neck. My eyes rolled back slightly before someone tapped my shoulder interrupting my mini daydream.

Those sparkling green eyes met mine again and I couldn't help the playful smirk that swept onto my face at the sight of him. He had a very business-like look to him before he opened his mouth. "Good work there, Swan. For the touchdown and the kicks. You did good work." He emphasized before turning on his heel to make a speedy escape. "You too! I'm very proud of you and your progress just tonight." I said with a little too much smugness. "What are you talking about?" he asked with a confused expression.

I smirked and turned around to walk towards the water. "You were able to remember not to pass to me, and my name all in less than an hour." I shouted over my shoulder to a very bewildered looking Edward.

The rest of the game went very much the same way, as we were able to pull off a 21 to 14 victory over Valley North High. I wasn't able to talk to him the rest of the game, but whenever we caught glances he got this confused look on his face and shook his head repeatedly. I couldn't understand what his problem was and was steadily getting more and more frustrated by it.

Seth called me over after a PAT of mine and that's when I realized it. I was a boy. I had been innocently flirting with Edward the whole night, and he thought I was a boy. I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to be a boy when I was playing football. But how had I forgotten? That was just carelessness on my part and I was very lucky it hadn't backfired.

Well, that explained his confused looks and avoiding me all night. I couldn't help but let out a laugh once I realized why he had been giving me those looks. 'I wonder what he's thinking now' I thought as I grabbed my gear and headed to a bathroom stall in the locker room to change.

EPOV

'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!?!' a voice in my head screamed. I'm all for gay rights and gay people and all that, but I am not gay. I am straight. I am straight and very very confused. I like me my boobs and ass just as much as the next straight guy. So why the hell is this 'Swan' dude giving me looks that send shivers down my spine in a way that no bombshell chick ever has? All I could think right then was that I could not be gay! Emmett and Jasper would give me crap for it til the end of time.

This Swan figure was trouble from the start. I knew he was trouble because I'm trouble, and everyone knows that it's always the quiet ones. They called his type the silent-but-deadly, and as far as I was concerned, I was road kill.

AN: So, I know I promised to get this out to some of you last night, but I got swamped with homework. I wanted to give a little more taste of the football game but not spend another 5 chapters on it at the same time haha. I also wanted to get a taste of what's going on in poor Edward's mind right now too. Hope you like it! Tell me what you think yea? :] hope to update in a couple of days


	3. Chapter 3

Monday morning after the game, the whole school was buzzing. There had been a party after the game Friday night celebrating our win and I had had no desire to attend. This did, however, mean that I had missed out on all the fun and enthralling new pieces of gossip that had been created at the party. _Aw Shucks... and I'm sure it was really worth my time too..._ I normally would have just quietly made my way through the halls, but there were a few things off today that just didn't seem right.

As I walked past the girl's bathroom, Jessica Stanley brushed past my shoulder and tripped, causing all of her books to scatter over the hallway floor. She looked up at me with teary puppy dog eyes that would cause any male within a 3-mile perimeter to rush to her side with aide. The females in that perimeter though, were put through the embarrassment of knowing she was faking every minute of it. So, this left me in a very precarious situation as you can imagine.

"Oh jeez, Brandon, I am so sorry! I can be such a klutz sometimes." she giggled in a sickening squeal. "I guess I just have weak ankles around certain people." Jessica finished with a small smirk and a wink. _Well shit, what do I do now?_ Being the genius that I was, I stared blankly at her while my mind was trying to figure out how to act. I was suffering through my mental and physical dysfunctions, when I was saved by a loud laugh that seemed a little muffled.

A few heads turned to look at the guilty figure of Alice Cullen, who currently had Jasper Hale's hand over her mouth. Her eyes, however, were still dancing with a silent kind of mischief. My brain seemed to snap back into functioning order in time for me to act my part as a gentleman... _ew. _"Oh uh yea, sorry about that Jessica." I was able to mumble as I practically picked up all her stuff on my own. _Damn, can't she at least get the book that's NEXT to her?! Of course not..._

"Here" I mumbled again handing her back all of her things. I made a beeline to get the hell out of that awkward situation when I heard a few sighs coming from where Jessica had dropped her stuff. I couldn't help the look of shock that came across my face when I turned and saw Jessica in the middle of a circle of girls that all seemed to be swooning over... _ME?!?!_ _Oh gross... If only they knew... _I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped my lips after that.

"I'm surprised to see that none of those acts of raging hormones have gone to you head." Looking for the source of the voice, I came across little Alice Cullen leaning against a locker five feet in front of me and guessed the origin of the voice to be her. "Naw, something like that really doesn't faze me." was the best thing I could come up with before continuing down the hall to my next class. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see that she was walking next to me. When I looked at her expectantly she responded, "I have English with you next. And don't let it go to your head that I'm walking with you to class, cuz I'm happily taken." she finished her small banter with a sly smirk. I couldn't help bursting out in laughter at what she said and worried she would be offended. It seemed it didn't even cross her mind however, and she just looked up at me with a wide smile that seemed to course happiness through my veins. _What a funny, weird little chick. Well, she's actually only about an inch shy of me... _

I felt slightly depressed after that but had to shake it off quickly since she seemed to notice I had momentarily left my body for a thinking moment. We had almost arrived at the classroom door when she turned to look at me.

"You look awfully pretty to be a boy, you know that?" she said with examining eyes. I swear I almost wet my pants right there in front of the door. _SHIT! What had I possibly done that led her to think I was a girl faking to be a guy on the football team and I really only did all of this to be able to play but that I was really a girl and that I was starting to think that I liked Edward but that he was giving me weird looks because he thought I was a guy and she thought I was a pretty for being a guy.... woooooah. Okay, slow down there partner. Now, think and regroup. Something clever, nonchalant, and polite._

"Uhhh, thanks. I shower daily." I responded back while running to my seat in the back of the classroom. _I shower daily?!?! What the fuck kind of answer was that?! Queue face-palm moment now..._

I was interrupted from my moment to blush and reflect on my stupidity by the loudest laughter I have ever heard and the scolding of Mr. Jensin. "Now Ms. Cullen, Is that really necessary in my classroom?" my English teacher scolded. "I-I'm so sorry Mr. Jensin, its just tha- hahaha sorry, it was just a very funny moment with.. haahhaha showers! HA!" Alice was able to get out between giggle fits. Mr. Jensin simply sighed and walked back to his desk guessing that that was the best answer he was going to get out of her.

I was taken back when she sat in the seat next to me, still a little pink in the face after her giggle fit. I couldn't help the blush that continued to creep up my face and must have been purple by the heat that I was radiating. "Aww, don't be embarrassed, I thought it was very clever. Be proud of your funny bone!" Alice encouraged with that huge happiness-radiating-smile again. I smiled back with the first real smile I had given anyone, off the field, since I got here.

The rest of the day, Alice followed me around and told me what seemed like her whole life's story. I didn't mind of course, in fact, it was kind of fun to have her around telling all of her crazy stories. After laughing at her interpretation of why malls should never close I realized that I had never really had this. She was acting.. we were acting... like friends. I had my fair share of acquaintances and such, but this was different, in a good way. The thought made me smile. "What is with that huge goofy-ass smile plastered across your face, hmm Swan?" Alice trilled. _Damn, she noticed._ "Haha, just thinking I guess." I replied happily.

She was about to ask me something when I motioned to the door of the boys' locker room. "I don't think you're allowed to come in here." I said with a smirk at her thoughtful face. She got this funny look in her eyes and questioned, "Oh, and you are?" I was about to lose it again when her smirk returned and I understood that she meant it in a teasing manner. _Kill me why don't you, you little pixie... thing! _"Are you really questioning my masculinity again, Alice?" I tried to say without trembling. She sized me up with a glare and laughed. "Can you blame me? You're just so damn pretty." she said again with a toothy grin. _Okay, we've had enough Alice fun for today kids, time to go breathe again._

I just shook my head laughing and walked through to the locker room. I heard the door close and looked up in time to see a muscled chest and strong hands slamming me into the wall behind. As I started chocking in air I realized that the person who had attacked me was none other than Jasper Hale flanked by Emmett and Edward Cullen. _Oh great. Is this some weirdo dude thing or is it normal for guys to blast people into walls for entertainment purposes?_

"What the fuck do you think you were doing trailing around my girlfriend all day, Swan?!" Jasper was able to spit out through his clenched teeth. _Uhh, what?_ "She was the one that followed me though." I said wondering what was going on. This was obviously not the right thing to say because I was instantly thrown to the ground and jumped. I was being punched everywhere and felt Edward, Emmett, and some of the other guys join the pile to restrain Jasper. I was in so much pain I couldn't help the mangled scream I let out. Everything suddenly went very still and the pile of guys dissolved leaving me in a ball on the floor. I looked up through the pain and would have been floored… had I not already been there.

Alice was standing there glaring at someone above me with a look that could burn and kill whomever she pleased just by looking at them. I angled my neck enough to realize her victim was Jasper. _Poor guy, he doesn't stand a chance._ "Jasper Hale," she started in a sharp whisper, "what in the effin' world were you doing?" He had a look on his face that made me want to cry for him. _Wait, whose side am I on? He just beat me up for God knows what reason! Sic em', Alice, kill!_

Jasper looked up at her with pleading eyes before mumbling a "sorry love" and dropping his head in shame again. The other guys around me all chimed in a quiet "sorry Alice" before returning their gaze to the floor. I couldn't stand to be the cause of the team's apologies and hell-filled gaze from Alice. Trying to stand proved to be harder than I thought when I got about three-quarters of the way up only to pummel back down. _Now I know who NOT to piss off again._

I was a bit shocked when I felt a pair of hands bringing me up gently from the floor. Too sore to turn around, I just let my head plop back to see Jasper's somber face. I turned to a still very pissed-off Alice with a cringe. "Don't blame them Alice, it really was all my fault. I provoked it." I was able to ramble off in hopes that nothing too bad would happen from any of this. She gave me another one of her scrutinizing glares before responding. "Well then, would _you _mind telling me what you did to deserve being clobbered by your teammates?" she asked with an air of authority. _Oh, shit. I have… no idea. Think, think, think, think!!! What was is that he had said before trying to kill me again?_

"I don't mean to bring you out of your day-dream Brandon, but would you mind answering me sometime this century?" Alice said in a forced-calm voice. "I don't exactly enjoy being in a sweaty locker room with a bunch of snot-nosed, half-naked, hormonal, teenage boys." She finished with a grimace. _Yea, well… welcome to my world, love. _Her comment seemed to snap something in Jasper and he immediately glared at every guy in the room, daring them to move an inch towards Alice. Nobody dared to breathe. _Shocker._ It hit me right then what had happened between Jasper and I. He was jealous! _Ohhhhhhhh….. Yea, that qualifies as a dumb-blond-Bella moment for sure!_

"I told him that he played a shitty game last week and that he was lucky I was there to make up for his sucky playing." I improvised thinking of the only thing that wouldn't get Jasper in trouble. Everyone looked at me with shocked looks including Jasper and Alice. Jasper was fighting a smirk when he pretended to go for another punch that Edward easily maneuvered me out of. I was relishing in the feeling of being in his arms when I realized that his arms were draped right across my chest. I was close to hyperventilating when wouldn't you know it, Alice interrupted.

"Oh. Well Jasper, don't get so dramatic about that honey." she soothed and patted his chest before walking towards the door. "Besides, you did kinda suck last game Jazzie. Love you!" she added blowing a kiss to him and left. "Well what do ya know _Jazzie,_ it seems she _does _like Swan better than you." Emmett was able to sneer before Jasper slapped him on the back of the head. I was trying to pay attention, but it was getting harder the longer I stayed in Edward's arms. "Yo, dude! You can stop man-hugging Swan now man, the pixie witch of the west is gone." Emmett teased. Edward's eyes grew huge and he dropped his arms like I had leprosy. _Emmett's stupidity makes an appearance and saves the day yet again!_

Jasper walked the few steps closer to me with an embarrassed look about him. "So uhm... I'm sorry I did that dude, it's just that-" I didn't let him finish. "I understand. She's your world. I have no intentions of interrupting or getting anywhere near the middle of that." I finished with a small laugh and a hand out to shake his. He gave me a small grin that told me I had been right and shook my hand.

"So Jasper, your girlfriend has quite the pair of lungs on her huh? That scream nearly blew out my eardrums." Emmett said with a huge teasing grin. My face was suddenly blushing to a level that was hurting like a third degree burn. I tried to duck out of the center of commotion when Jasper hit Emmett and just _had_ to reply. "Naw man, Alice came in after the scream. It must have been one of guys here" he said scouting out everyone in the room with a big smile. "Or should I say, one of the GIRLS here." he finished turning to go out on the field.

I was scared shitless and I had a feeling my knees were chattering. I ran into a bathroom stall and diligently waited for all the guys to be out before coming back out to get dressed. During the day I bound myself up as much as I could under my big shirts, but during practice it hurt too much to keep the bindings on without extra cushion. I found that it was much more comfortable to wear a pushup bra under my under-armor and pads cuz it served as extra padding. It was comfortable and worked. I was happy. I turned around with my bra over my bound chest to get my shoulder pads off the bench when I heard a gasp. I nearly had a heart attack right there at the sight before me. Emmett was standing right in the doorway of the locker room with a completely blank face. He was scared... silent? _Oh... this can't be good._

He seemed to recover enough to give me a horrified look before slowly bringing his trembling arm up to point disgustingly at the contraption on my chest. "Dude, are you wearing a.. a... a _purple pushup bra?!?!" _he whispered in fright. _Oh shit... this is gonna take a lot of quick thinking to fix. Ready, set, GO BRAIN, GO!_

Emmett's POV:

_Dude, seriously. WHAT THE FUCK?! Why purple? That is like... the official grodiest bra color ever! At least have the dignity to wear something a little better like pink or red or ooooh black with red stitching. But purple?! Why would any gir- wooooah wait.... Dude….. That's mini-Swan…. MY BRAIN ITCHES!!!!_

AN: okay, I am so sorry it took so long to get this out, it's just that I was suffering from writer's block and I'm sure you can all appreciate that. Still, I would like to get the next one out to you much sooner and I hope I can get on a schedule for updates twice a week. Anywho, I do plan on having Edward have more POV time, it's just that I needed him to take a back seat so I could get Alice some well-deserved attention. And I was just DYING to give Emmett his little valley-girl moment :] I love Emmett. Please review though you guys! I know a lot of people have this story alerted, but please review! It encourages me to write faster :D Next time, Emmett is told about the versatile uses for pushup bras and craziness ensues.

-maihoneybun


	4. Chapter 4

For the life of me I couldn't think of anything. What exactly was I supposed to say to Emmett? I mean, it would have been awkward enough just to be seen by him in a bra, but he walked in and saw me in a bra… thinking I was a guy. I must not have been doing a very good job at this double life thing, cuz it seemed I was putting a lot of stress on the brains of my classmates and myself.

His face was all scrunched up and looked like he was in pain. _Poor guy… I probably just messed up the way he looks at everything in the world. _And boy, did he look the part of a person who was mentally lost too. I went to take a step towards him and he flinched.

"O-okay, y-you just… st-stay over there, and _I _will be over h-here while you tell me w-what the h-hell is GOING ON!" he managed to stutter out before yelling the last two words. He was upset, to say the least, and I had to come up with something to fix this now. _Acting improv. skills… Activate! Yea… If only…_

"Emmett, you kinda just need to calm down a little bit so that I can explain all of this to you, okay?" I tried to say everything in a very calm, slow, and steady voice; the kind I would use for a 6 yr. old little girl who's goldfish just died. _Do I tell him the truth? I mean, can I trust someone like Emmett with THIS big of a secret? _

The road I was going down in my head was telling me that I didn't really have another choice at the moment, but I was really not ready for this. What I really needed was more time, but Emmett's mental state seemed a little reluctant to give me that luxury.

I walked backwards toward my bag so I could at least put on a shirt once I told him my secret. "You see Emmett, there really is a good reason for why I'm wearing this." I dropped my eyes and took in a deep breath. "I wear this because I-" I couldn't finish before I felt my stomach dropping again.

I had tripped over the bench and knocked my bag over in the process. _Great, just what I needed… _I rolled my eyes and tried to put everything in my bag so I could finish my explanation. "Sorry, but like I was saying, the reason is because I am…" I stopped mid sentence again because I had found my most awkward savior ever, in the bottom of my bag. _My pads… _ And no, I don't mean my football pads; I mean my, only-a-chick-will-ever-need-to-use-these-kind-of-pads, pads. _That's it! PADS! … Okay, I think I am officially relieved from ever having to say that word again._

"Not to say that I'm a little anxious for your answer or anything, but you kinda still have me totally confused here, Swan." Emmett said with a grimace while shifting his weight to his other foot uncomfortably. _You're uncomfortable… _I sucked in what I hoped would be the last big breath I needed in at least a century.

"I uhm, I use it for extra padding." I said with a wince. _Not technically lying, right?_ I had hoped that everything would just come to me once I said that, but my mind was still as blank as Jessica Stanley's last Spanish quiz. (She sat next to me and it wasn't exactly hard to see her failed papers when she got them back.)

"Well, see... it's just more cushion for the pushin'... right?" I pulled a huge smile out of my ass and prayed he would accept my answer. He looked at me critically before a look of dawning came across his face.

"Ohhhh... okay. Works for me shortie." he seemed pleased enough with my answer and it seriously looked like I was all in the clear.

"Hey, shortie. I don't want to come off all nosy and shit, but what's all that wrapping underneath the uh… 'Extra padding' for then?" he asked dismissively with one foot out the door.

The wrapping?! _Crap! I didn't even think of something for that._ I moved around a little from nerves and was given my new answer from a tender pain in my side. "Oh, that's just still wrapped up from my injury during last game's kickoff, remember?" It was kinda weird how easily that had come to my mind. _Am I finally getting good at this thing?_

"Yea, I remember…" he awkwardly shuffled his feet before continuing. "Heh, well, I feel kinda bad for jumpin' to assuming stuff now…" he managed to say with his head down and hands fidgeting by his sides. He looked up with eyes that had almost a pleading aggression in them. "But ya know dude, it totally looked different than what it was. Not sayin' there's anything funny goin' on or nothin" he put his arms up in a defensive way to stress his words.

It seriously _must_ have been an extra hot day today, cuz I was feelin' the heat. "Haha, yeaaa. I know what you mean, but uhh, whatever it is that you were thinking it was… It wasn't. So uhh yea." I finished my defense with a forced smile.

He laughed loudly and threw his head back while walking out. "Yes, I guess you're right. Cuz I seriously thought you were a real chick there for like.. five seconds." He puffed a loud sharp laugh again. "But how ridiculous would that be? I mean, a _girl_ playing football? Oh god… hahaha." He didn't seem to be able to keep any of his laughter in, making it possible to hear his laugh even after he had long since left the locker room.

Once I knew I was finally alone I slumped down the lockers nearest to me and collapsed haphazardly on the floor. I sat there contemplating why I put myself through all this stress when I was jolted back to reality by the sound of a whistle. _Shoot! I still have practice!!!_ I yanked on my shoulder pads and helmet quickly before running out the door of the locker room and onto the field to approach a very pissed off looking coach. _All in favor of labeling today as the worst day in history on our calendar at home, say I. __**I!!!**_

Emmett POV

Okay, so I've been thinking about it a lot. That encounter with shortie definitely woke me up to a few things and forced me to realize stuff. Purple definitely was not the _worst_ possible bra color cuz I had thought of another. Orange. Traffic-frikin'-cone Orange. Now _that_ was a nasty bra color.

The more I think about it though, the more his idea seems pretty smart. I mean its more padding, which coming from a guy whose pwn-ing people left and right all game long, can be good for those of us who get a little beat after all the exertion. Not me of course, but for the other little noobs on our team. It really would be smart if they would wear the extra padding, but being a captain and all I would have to wear one to be a good example. _Cuz that's just the kind of nice guy I am._ Yup, that's me…the responsible captain lookin' out for his troops.

So, now that I've figured out that problem I can continue on to more important things. Like how I'm going to charm this new chick into going out with me. I mean, when they're this hot, you have to be very careful how you approach them. Just because I was Emmett Cullen didn't mean that all the girls I met just fell at my feet, it meant that all the girls I met fell at my feet, except for one. Ya know, which just happened to be the one that I actually cared about. _Hurrah for me and my easy picking skills._ _Who am I kidding? I always like a challenge… it makes it more muy caliente!_

I could practically see her now, walking towards me with that sexy-hula-dancer-hip-swaying thing. Wavy blonde hair down to her mid-back billowing lightly in the breeze; long, creamy legs that showed just enough muscle to make me drool; eyes that screamed sex with every slow seductive blink; and the finishing touch were those full juicy lips that were plump enough to look edible, but not too big to cause alarm of possible infection. _Perfect._ Her blessed lips parted just as she was barely two inches from my face. _Oh, yea. I still got it…_ **BAM.**

"SHIT!!!" I don't want to sound like a pussy or anything, but that was freakin scary as hell! Something must have hit my helmet and surprised me. "Graaugh" I am pissed! I mean, my amazing daydream was just getting all sexy and amazing and yummy and rose was about to kiss me... urghhhhhhh. _Just when it was getting really good too… _"Ya'll damn well better know that someone just opened up a whole new can of whoop-ass and the whole team is gonna pay for it until someone rats out the little runt!!!"

Nobody ruins my sexy daydreams when they're about Rose, thank you very much. _Assholes._

AN: Okay, so I know its short. The reason for this is that I basically re-wrote this chapter six different times, which is why it took so long. I would have made it longer but I think it's time for a transition and I didn't want to add more pointless stuff just to make it longer.

Cool fact is that I am already almost done with the next chapter and it has Bella and Edward finally interacting more!!! Hurrah! But because I am an evil person I am holding the chapter ransom for reviews. I know it sounds downright not nice, but I swear I will not ever make you wait this long for another chapter and I will now be updating every Friday or Saturday unless I feel like spoiling you. Which today I am willing to do with a new chapter out tomorrow if I get enough reviews. If I get up to 20 reviews (at 14 now) I will update tomorrow. If I get more, I will update tomorrow and sneak in a fun little scene that I've been cooking up! Oh, and did I mention the hugs from squishy? (^-^)

-mahoneybun


	5. Chapter 5

This was officially my new favorite place in the world. Lying on my bed after just changing the sheets, so it had that "ocean breeze" smell. Leave it to the magic of Fabreeze to soothe a very sore body after an afternoon of hell. It had been a very long day and Mondays definitely took a downward spiral on the popularity poll of weekdays for me because of it.

Sitting here gave me some much needed thinking time that I didn't know I needed until I was using it. Questions were popping up in my head in the weirdest ways and I seemed to have answers for all of them subconsciously. Why couldn't that happen during things like tests and make itself a little more useful?

What am I doing? _Playing football, dumb ass. And kinda getting your butt handed to you while you're at it. _Why am I going through all this trouble? _To prove something to yourself and possibly impress a certain someone- _Okay… sure, but why do I care about him in the first place? _… _Yea, that's what I thought. _That didn't mean that I didn't have an answer, that just meant that you aren't ready to accept it yet. So-until then, I'm good just being that annoying voice of reason for everything, but that… for now. _Well, obviously. Cuz, ya know, that happens to be THE ONLY THING THAT'S REALLY BUGGING ME RIGHT NOW!!!

The internal debate continued ravaging my mind until I heard a knock on my door. "Come in!" I shouted in what I prayed was the most unladylike way possible. Charlie's answering scowl when he snuck his head past the door obviously meant I had achieved the desired effect. He had some weird thing with me acting like a lady at home. I think it was to reassure him of something, but I really had no desire at all to try to understand his mind, so I left that subject for another day.

"I'm just checking up on you kiddo. I heard you yelling and I don't mean to pry or anything, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay." His nervous fidgeting proved the point that he really was here just out of concern. He wasn't one to really enjoy chatting.

"Yea dad, I'm fine. Really." _I was yelling out loud?! Aw shit. _The aggressiveness in my voice gave everything away, I was sure. The painfully obvious lie caused me to cringe with guilt. Had I really become the kind of person who lied so easily? Well, it wasn't easy, but it still hurt to have to keep lying.

"Bells, you know that if you ever wan-" he paused as if he was listening for something. The blank look on his face would have been laughable if I wasn't in such a deadbeat mood. He tensed up suddenly spooking me into almost falling off the bed and ran out the bedroom door.

His heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs quickly and he managed to yell up them "Game's on. Tell me if you want to talk later." Well, he certainly was a man of few words and when he did talk, his actions spoke much louder. Today they said "Really can't handle the following: hormones, teenagers, drama... and missing the game that's on in the other room right now. Go go go."Oh, yes. Charlie and I were very similar in many aspects. Too many actually.

I sighed kinda dejectedly, I guess you could say, and collapsed back on my bed. This whole thing was getting out of hand and the fact that Charlie was getting concerned was concerning in itself. Maybe I should just give up this whole double-life thing. I mean, football was amazing, and fun, and amazing, and a bunch of other adjectives that my brain was just too worn out to fish for at the moment, but was it all worth it?

I was brought out of my contemplative state, yet again tonight, by the doorbell downstairs. _It's 9:37, what idiot would be at the door at this hour?_ I wasn't bothered too much when I heard Charlie talking to someone downstairs. Ok, so I was a little curious to find out who it was, but him being the police chief and all I was sure it was none of my business. ...Yea, so that was working really well til three minutes later, and my ear was pressed against my bedroom door trying to figure out why that voice seemed so familiar...

"Yo, kiddo! There's someone who's here for you. And he insists on seeing you in person alright... _Buddy..?!!_" Charlie's yelled request rang loud and clear in my head, but why the hell was he talking so weird? _Kiddo... Buddy..? _What the hell is any of that supposed to be? _Oh God. Please tell me that Charlie isn't working on being "endearing" again! _Yea, thanks to Mrs. Stanley, Charlie had read a full 13 pages of some parenting book about two months ago. _And here I thought things were going so well in the recovery process too._

I took a look in the mirror on the back of my door as I swung it open to meet my "guest". I still had my hair up in one of my infamous trucker hats, with a big rams Superbowl shirt and some dark blue pajama pants my mom had sent me with a pleading note to use them. _Why not wear the hideous things after getting all grungy and sweaty, right?_

I had gotten about halfway down the stairs before coming to a streaking halt that I was very proud hadn't ended in being flung down the stairs. _Who else would be in my house at... clock is to the right... 9:41, but Edward Effin Cullen?! _Okay, so I made improvements to his name to make it that much more endearing. Immature, sure, but I liked it. _Mmmmm. And that's not the only thing I like. _I allowed myself the smallest fraction of a second to scan the beau- uhhm... han- oh the hell with it... the smokin' hot piece of quarterback teenage man at the bottom of my stairs. Yea, that worked.

He was in a dingy pair of torn, low-setting jeans, his dirty Forks High Football shirt, and some worn-in vans. Any other guy would have looked scrappy, but somehow he only looked that much more desirable. With his hair still having that "just took off my helmet" look and his face being flushed from the wind outside, it took everything in my power not to jump him right there and tell him my life's story.

"-Should really keep better track of you stuff Swan. Cuz I'm not gonna take the time out to bring you your equipment and neither are any of the other captains, I just didn't want to see you get in trouble- ya know, being new and all..." _God he looks so sexy when he blushes like that... Wait. SHIT! Was he just talking? Shit... how long have I been ignoring him? I hope I didn't say anythi- _Someone chose that moment to cough and broke me out of my miniature panic attack. I looked around to see Charlie giving me an expectant face and eyeing between Edward and me with great vigor. Almost like he was trying to hint that I was supposed to do something…

_Woah! Hey, pay attention! He's trying to give you your helmet! _I snatched my helmet from him quickly to try to make up for the time I spent not paying attention to my surroundings. I tried ignoring his eyes, but they kinda had that gravitational pull about them where they forced me to look in them. As amazingly pretty as his eyes were, they were screaming out different emotions that could only be more obvious if he held up a sign expressing them. He was confused.

This time he coughed and the psychic- eye connection disappeared. He looked at me expectantly and I couldn't help but feel awkward. Charlie threw me a look and then grunted something about watching the game and a thanks to Edward while walking back to his tv room. With Charlie gone, the quiet atmosphere only got worse and Edward seemed overwhelmed and turned to leave.

"Well, uh, try not to forget your stuff next time, alright Swan? It was good... uh.. talking with you, I guess." he said while he reached for the door. I repeated the words to myself internally to try to memorize the way everything sounded. …_It was good talking with you... Oh Crap! I haven't even said anything to him this whole time!!!_

"Wait!" I yelled a little too loud and grabbed for his hand on the doorknob. He gave me a confused look again and I caught my mistake. _Try an octave lower, dumb-ass..._ "I- uhh... I meant, do you uhh do you want something to drink?" I managed to stutter in a lower voice. His confused face remained in place. "Cuz uhh ya know, for bringing me back my helmet and all, and its late so I wouldn't want you to pass out on the way home. Maybe some tea?" _more macho!_ "..or coffee?" _God you're pathetic "..._Or I also have some cases of Monster in the fridge if you want... Dude..." I practically yelled the last part to try to persuade him of my masculinity.

I tried not to cringe as I waited for his answer, but it seemed to be a bit of a reflex around him. I managed to pry my eyes open long enough to see him actually contemplating my request. He shuffled his feet for a few seconds and then took his hand off the doorknob. "Sure, a Monster would actually be great right now, ya know, a bit of a pick-me-up before the drive home probably would be smart." he said in what seemed to be a conversation geared more to himself, but I took it as my answer. "Great! You wanna come in the kitchen and I'll get you a can?"

He gave me a small crooked smile and nodded. I had to turn around quickly in fear of him seeing my face blush from swooning._ God, why did you give that boy a smile that could kill me?_ I heard a choked laugh and was forced to turn around prematurely before being able to beat back my blush. It was a good thing though, cuz the blush started up again immediately once I saw his eyes.

They seemed to be level with my ass and he looked to be holding in a laugh that had his eyes watering. _Well, I realize I don't have a Beyonce body here okay, but there's no need to laugh about my lack of curves, gosh!_ "Dude, what is so funny?" I managed to keep my masculine tone even though I was feeling a bit hurt at the moment. He just shook his head and covered half his face with one hand while pointing to the mirror above the sink across from me. I turned around and looked in the mirror to see what he found was so damn funny and had to stifle a scream.

Those damn pajama pants that my mother got me said "Juicy" in big red letters right across my ass. _Well shit mom, might as well write "these are my daughter's juicy glutes and she is a girl" right across it instead. _Something told me that that was the main message she was trying to get across and just hadn't found a pair with that description yet, so she settled. And what a great settling item she had found, too.

I was pissed at this point and made it known. "If you want your damn energy drink then I suggest you quit your little giggle fit and sit down." He complied and only had a smirk on his face when I turned back around and gave him his drink. "And stop staring at my ass too! Its not funny!" All control that he had mustered up broke through at that point to hearty rounds of laughter. As much as I tried, I couldn't stop from laughing right along with him for no other reason than that he looked so funny laughing himself.

After a good four minutes solid, we were both crouched over holding our sides with one arm and the table with the other. I looked up over the table from my crumpled position to see his eyes watering as they looked right at me. His eyes crinkled with a smile and he pushed himself up to look at me properly.

"Now, I hope you don't find this offending, but would there be a specific reason as to why you are wearing those pants?" His voice was light enough and for once, his eyes didn't seem troubled either. It made me feel genuinely happy for the few seconds while I conjugated up one of my lies. The more I was thinking, the sadder I felt. But this had to be done, I had to lie to him... even if it was just for a little longer. I wasn't ready for him to know, or to stop playing football if I placed false hope in him. I sighed a little before I started.

"They were just a pair of pants that I found upstairs that looked comfortable enough. I haven't washed any of my clothes for a while so I was a little short." It had all come so easily like I thought it would, but it hurt to lie to him so much more than Emmett or Alice. My answer seemed to pique his interest for some reason though.

"Oh yea, those are probably from your cousin huh? Chief Swan's daughter?" he asked. The way he nonchalantly mentioned me, the real me, made me quiver. Here I was, fighting so hard not to just come out and tell him, and he mentioned me like it was nothing interesting. I wanted to cry. _I don't even really know Edward, but I feel so... wait, what am I saying?! Shut up, drink your energy drink, and get him to leave. _My thoughts hurt, but I knew that my mental strength wouldn't last much longer if he stayed around.

I stood up and put the remains of my drink in the fridge. When I turned back around it was to see that same small smile on his face again. _What now, oh amazingly attractive one?_ I gave him a simple raise of an eyebrow and he shook his head, walking to the door.

"Thanks again for bringing me my helmet, I probably would have had to do a ton of yards worth of lame-dogs without it tomorrow." _That sounds macho enough right?_ "Yea, of course. I'm not gonna say anytime, but no problem. Just try not to forget your shit alright, Brandon?" He waved and walked out to his car on the street. I had planned to watch him pull away but I figured that might be a little too much.

As i went around the house turning lights off and waking Charlie so he didn't fall asleep on the sofa again, I couldn't help the path my mind was wondering to. It was almost like I had wanted him to figure out I was a girl, without finding out I was a girl. It made no sense and yet at the same time, it was all clear. As much as I hated to admit it, I liked Edward Effin' Cullen. At the same time I also liked playing football. I had been thinking that the two couldn't collide no matter what. But what if they could? What if I could have both parts in my life?

While snuggling into my comforter and falling into an exhausted sleep, my thoughts followed me. That night I dreamt of Edward and I kissing on the football field, both clad in our pads and game jerseys… helmets left forgotten at our feet. That was the best night's sleep I had ever had in Forks, Washington.

AN:

Okay, if you guys want to kill me, please wait until I explain why I haven't updated in well over a month. The thing is, im a senior in high school (or was, woohoo) and I had to try to get all my stuff together and study my little butt off so I could graduate and not have to take summer school and all that not fun stuff. So my creative mind took a huge blow and I was forced to study. Terrible right? So, I finished this as soon as I could and didn't even let my beta (NyxisNox) look at all my bad grammar. Hey, by the way, I have a really cool beta. Thought you should know haha and her name is in the parentheses. She's actually a much better writing than me, but I've been hogging all her creativity for myself so she gets no time to do her own stuff. Check her out though cuz we're gonna be doing some stories together that I think you might like. AAAAAAAAND because I am really desperate to not be killed I want you all to know that I will be posting a chapter of another story up here soon. Its Edward and Bella too, but It's a bit easier on the non-sports-literate peeps out there. So, for anyone that read all the way down here… I love you… and send you cyber brownies. Oh, and shout out to the reviewer who put a bunny on their review. SO freakin tight!!! You have to show me how to do that!!!

As always,

-mahoneybun


	6. Chapter 6

The week after Edward brought me my helmet was a bit of a blur. I walked the halls zombie-like and almost managed to plow Jessica over after English class on Tuesday. She whined something about her cracked nail to her friend next to her and I made sure to throw a quick sorry her way before I proceeded to the cafeteria.

The loud jumbled voices and jostling bodies finally managed to jolt me from my brain haze in time to grab my tray. The food, at best, was questionable today. As I sat down at a mostly empty table towards the corner of the long hall, my mashed potatoes started to move. The longer I stared, the more my food came to life. When my sloppy Joe bubbled and called my name, however, was when I knew I had crossed a fine line. I was way too stressed out about everything. I needed an outlet if I was going to keep my sanity and Charlie just wasn't good enough anymore. But who could I trust in this place after knowing them all less than a month?

A firm hand clasped onto my shoulder and I jumped out of my seat, unable to prevent the half-squeal I emitted in the process. "A little jumpy there, Brandon?" Her teasing smile could have been seen a mile away, if I had been paying attention at least. _Alice…_ She caught sight of my glare and got defensive. "Hey, no pouting about it okay mister? I've been calling your name for the past five minutes with only your brooding veggie picking as a response. Most people would give up and walk away offended, but Alice Cullen _never _walks away offended." Her aggressive stance shifted to pure comfort and happiness. "She investigates and perfects any and all problems." She winked at me and finished with a simple, "It's just what I do."

She sat down next to me with her Betty Boop lunch box that simply radiated Alice vibes. Her sandwich was cut up into four perfectly symmetrical squares and de-crusted, only to be outdone by her matching thermos of ice tea and an Asian chicken salad with dressing and wontons in one of those damn Glad containers. As my sloppy- Joe gurgled on my tray I couldn't help but daydream about my mother's Pb&j sandwiches that would squish and stick to the zip lock bags. _Way more appetizing than this prison food tray._

"So Swan, what's on your mind?" Alice's voice echoed around her thermos as she took a sip. "You've been a bit broody and moody and… something else with an -oody." She couldn't help the smirk that started up her face at her own cleverness. "Anything I can help with?" No, she couldn't help. What could she do? She wasn't the one who was pretending to be another sex while falling in love. She didn't have to go out and play in the game again tonight, praying that nobody saw her for what she really was. She wasn't the one th- "You know, your body language is easier to understand than your words."

She had moved on to the salad and was watching me with her fork still halfway in her mouth. She pulled it out and pointed it at me with weapon-like finesse. "You look around you at least twice every seven minutes. You don't trust those around you." I looked around us to make sure nobody else was listening and was greeted by Alice's quirked eyebrow. She nodded with a smirk and continued. "You fidget with your hat when you're nervous and I've never seen you without it except when you're wearing a helmet. You're hiding something." I had to physically stop myself from adjusting my trucker hat. _Must... pull... down... looower. _She noticed my internal struggle and her smirk grew smugger, if that was possible. "Lastly, you've been showing up late to practice, your legs shake whenever you're sitting, and you've run into more walls than people lately. You're cracking."

At her last words her smile dripped off her face and was replaced by sadness, pity, and compassion. She wanted to help me? Could she even understand the kind of predicament I had volunteered myself for?

Of course not, but I could tell her. I could tell her my secret so she would understand. But could I trust her? Was she really someone who could keep this quiet and possibly help me before I went mentally boggled? I looked up to see her glancing across the hall with a hint of longing. I followed the direction of her eyes and saw a group of my teammates sitting at a table with some short-skirted bimbos.

A flash of bronze caught my eye and my stomach clinched painfully. _Edward..._ _gah!_ Even his name sounded amazing to me. The way it just rolled off my tongue. _Wait, why is Alice looking at Edward like that? _I started panicking needlessly when Alice caught me staring and smiled.

"He understands that I need my space sometimes but he seems to have a bit of a harder time with the 'I don't need space anymore' memo," she chuckled. "Wait, who are we talking about again?" I asked. I didn't know that she and Edward were that close. I couldn't deny that they did fit though. They were both nearly perfect, therefore making it a match made in heaven by default.

She eyed me up and down like I had polka dot boxers on over my jeans. I looked down quickly to make sure I didn't and sighed in relief when all was clear. She let out an obnoxiously loud sigh and rolled her eyes. "Jasper, of course!" _Jasper's sitting over there? _"If you would take your eyes off Edward long enough to see everyone else then you might have noticed." I choked on the milk that I had just slurped up through my bendy straw and tried to live for two more seconds. _Yea, two more seconds til she kills me by yelling that I'm gay for Edward Cullen in front of the whole school body! ... Wait, I'd be gay for Edward...? That's kinda hot…_

"I notice other people too-" I caught my mistake and she smiled cheekily at me. "W-what I meant by that was that I happen to notice that Emmett and Lauren and some other useless people are also sitting with them." There, that was a good enough cover-up. Her eyebrow rose til it nearly disappeared in her spiky black hair. "And some other useless people?" she quoted me but with a huff of disbelief.

"Oh, please! You're the one who's all goo-goo eyes for Jasper okay?" I speculated in efforts to get the attention off of me. She threw me a glare that told me that my plan backfired. "Well, _Mr. Swan_, I happen to be dating the man in question in my situation and you happen to be the incorrect sexual orientation for our dear friend Edward," she giggled and rolled her eyes continuing, "as far as we know." In my embarrassment and anger I seemed to forget everything around me. "Well, what's that supposed to mean, Alice?"

"It means, that you have feelings for Edward and he might have problems reciprocating unless you are a female." Her smirk grew and I stopped breathing. "That is, unless you a. enjoy confusing the poor boy, or b. are hiding something." She took a deep breath and stretched her arms behind her neck casually. "Which brings us back to the conversation we were having just a few minutes ago… hmm… funny how that happened, eh Swan?"

I still hadn't dared to take a breath in hopes that if I stopped my lungs from working then maybe I could magically stop time and things could stop going downhill in this conversation. As I started feeling light-headed and Alice still had a very satisfied smirk on her face I decided it was best to force a breath. So much for the magic trick… _God what I would give for a time-turner right now… _

Alice gave me a sideways glance and brought her arms down slowly to rest on the table. "Listen, It's fine if you don't trust me with your secrets, but just know that you can come to me if you ever need someone to talk to about it alright?" A small weight squeezed my hand and then let go as Alice started to get up when the warning bell rang. "I won't tell anyone anything if you care to share with me, I would consider it an honor, really." She took my hand and pulled me up off the bench towards the doors.

"Thanks Alice, I really appreciate the offer." She answered with a wink and a light "Well, who would I tell anyways? Nobody around here's worth telling _Brandon Swan's_ secrets to." I scoffed and was awarded with a very mature tongue sticking by her royal highness herself.

We walked through the halls towards our next class and I couldn't help but look forward to the game tonight. I was going to play as hard as I could on the field, win (hopefully), and then tell Alice my secret (if she didn't already know it). I had to tell her so I could have someone to vent to about practicing through periods, dealing with tough manly drills, and how amazingly sexy Edward Effin' Cullen was. Yea, after the game everything was going to finally be sorted-out.

It was the 4th quarter; I was sweating up a storm and nursing a sore ankle behind the Gatorade. It had been by far one of the hardest games I'd played in, even managing to get someone else's blood on my jersey during the first 10 minutes of the game. The guys all congratulated me like I had scored and I managed to sneak away and get answers from the JV. Seth had to explain that a bloodied jersey was like a medal of honor and the more blood you have on your jersey the cooler you look. _Boys…_

We were down by 2 points with 23 seconds left in the game and I heard my number being called by the coach signaling my rest time was up. I hustled onto the field at the 31yd line and into place for our usual 'bread and butter' if you will, of rushing plays. I was meant to be like a human torpedo through the ever-strong defense of the Port Angeles lumberjacks. The whistle blew and Edward glanced left and right chanting off the calls in a rough voice that I could only guess was practiced to sound more macho. _Well, it worked. Mmmm_.

I shook my head and glanced quickly at the non-existent B gap between their' 68 and 75. How was I supposed to fit through that? They HAD to have each been like 6'1 and 280lbs. at least!!! They could have eaten me… like five times… for a snack. The ball was snapped and I ran towards Edward while Jacob and Jasper went off in other directions to act as a decoys. I tried to grab the ball from him for our usual handoff but he kept his hands on it and backed away almost like he was going to… _No… He can't be __that__ stupid._

He had decided to pull back and change the play by passing to Jacob up the field to try to gain more yards in the time we had. Edward threw a bullet pass to Jacob that was obviously unexpected and hit the back of his knee. Jacob fell and the ball bounced a bit before Jasper was able to scramble for it at the 14yd line, but inbounds! I looked up at the scoreboard to see that there were 13 seconds left in the game and counting. I screamed for Edward to call a time-out, but he seemed to be in a bit of a pity party at the moment and it would have been a shame to interrupt THAT.

Jasper was busy getting up from under the dog pile… 9 seconds… I was screaming for Emmett at this point and could already hear the other teams' fans cheering. "EMMETT! CALL A TIME-OUT!!!" 7 seconds… I finally saw him on the ground hugging his knee at an awkward angle. "EMMETT! CALL IT!!!!" 5 seconds… He looked up at me with a pained expression and growled out some bit of profanity as he lifted his arm to indicate our team taking our last time-out. 3 seconds… Had the ref seen him do it? Shit, where was the ref? I looked at the clock as it stopped at 2. _Thank God!_

Holy Hamburgers Batman! Edward Effin' Cullen was a complete and utter idiot-prick-ass-mother-bunker who apparently wanted to not only screw his teammates, but lose this game as well. I ran over to Emmett to help attempt to pick him up and had to suppress the need to kill Edward. "Thanks shortie" Emmett grunted while I made myself his own personal crutch to get to the sidelines. I handed him off to one of the other linemen so they could get him to the medical table while I hustled back to where the coach looked to be digging into Edward in front of the whole team. _Good, Sexward deserves a little ripping into…_ Sexward…? I didn't even want to think about where these thoughts were coming from.

I apparently missed something when the team broke up the huddle and ran out to the field in… _field goal positions? Did I miss something here?! _Coach Riddear slapped my helmet encouragingly and handed me my kicking block. "Go get em' Swan! You got this!"

I was about to kick a field goal from the 19yd line to win or lose the game with 2 seconds left. I was fucking going to piss my pants I was so nervous! I took a deep breath, avoiding looking at Edward's slouching body next to my feet in case I felt so inclined to kick him instead of the ball. I took two steps back, two to the left, and kicked the dirt underneath me for good measure. I looked up at the uprights, purposefully avoiding the players behind my teammates. I looked down into Edward's eyes and nodded slightly. He gave me a terse smile before I lifted up my right arm and he called it. "Blue, Blue, SET!"

Every sound drained away and everything was in slow motion once again. I looked only at the block that would soon hold my ball and once it appeared at the 'sweet spot' in the lower left corner of the ball. I swung through and kept my eyes glued to the block and where the ball had been sitting before I kicked it. In order to keep my kick straight I couldn't look up or it would swing my hips, thus the ball, off course. I struggled, but kept my head down enough to see Edward slowly standing up to see the outcome of my kick. I looked at the back of his helmet, too afraid to watch the ball's movement, only to see his helmet shake back and forth.

The boo's and cheers of the fans erupted and echoed into my helmet as I heard the tell-tale whistle blow to mark the end of the game. My eyes were all blurry and I couldn't see anything through my tears of disappointment. _He wouldn't shake his head if we won… _Through my blurred eyes I saw Edward turn around to face me with a determined look. _Yea, you and me both, Fuckward… you and me both._

AN:

Hahaha cliff…. So, once again, it's been a while. I really am sorry, but if it makes you feel any better I don't put these out until I think they're good enough for you to see. :/ oh, and I really don't know what to tell you about this chapter, cuz people say all the time that the characters ran away with it… well, for reals… this was soooo not the direction I was going with this hahaha it was fun to write though :D and we got more football!!! Who doesn't like more football huh? So, as usual… reviews are loved and responded to by meee cuz I like talking to you guys about these silly little characters! OH WAIT!!! Okay, so I have another new story that I kinda started too and would love if I got some reads and possibly some feedback on whether to continue with it or not too!! I really like Edward in it and would super love your thoughts on him. Cyber… Pecan Pie to whoever gives me the coolest reviews haha

*Reviewer shout out to: dolphinherovamp5 cuz you've been encouraging since chapter one! Woohoo!!! Stickers for youuuu!!! 3


	7. Chapter 7

The constant buzzing of the field lights helped to numb my mind from the irrational, yet torturous, pain I was in. My chest clenched and my breathing grew louder and more ragged with each blinding step I took. I had tried sitting on the field quietly and found it impossible and far too painful. So I ran.

I ran the length of the field back and forth to stop the tears from coming to my eyes but within a few minutes that plan failed too. I gnawed my teeth together in frustration and pain while I felt the tears streak down my face, dripping the eye black with them. I huffed another breath and counted the fallen tears in my head. _The last one makes 5 this round... 23 left now..._

For every traitorous tear that fell from my face I ran 3 lengths of the field. 3 lengths of the field for the 3 points that I lost for my team. 3 lengths of the field for the simple kick that I had missed. 3 lengths of the field for every tear that stood as a painful reminder of my failures.

The game had been so close. All I had to do was make a simple kick that I had perfected in practice. I had never missed a kick. Those were the easy points and the team depended on me for them. This wasn't like normal plays that could be blamed on all eleven guys on field. This was a play that only one person was responsible for. _Me..._

I shook my head as I felt a fresh tear squeeze its way out of my eye. _3 more... 25 now. _I had been doing this for what seemed like eternity but I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop and face my mistakes head-on. So I ran like the coward that I felt like I was. I ran to become what I apparently wasn't- strong. I ran to hopefully, through shear exhaustion, forget for a few blissful seconds the hell I had put myself into and just... be.

My breathing was out of control, my throat was raw for strain, my head light as a feather, and my legs _numb._ I laughed out loud at finally achieving a piece of the relief I was striving for. My moment of peace came at a cost however when I tripped on a clump of grass. I was too tired to block my fall with my arms and just let my whole body collapse on the ground with a gust of air stolen from my lungs at impact.

My pads had protected me from serious damage but didn't stop my head from pounding the ground hard through my helmet. I secretly prayed for the dark comfort of blacking-out when I heard yelling from the other side of the field. Their voice seemed to dance closer to me in a way I could only assume meant they were coming over. I immediately made to get up and felt myself wobble a bit before continuing where I left off. _21 to go..._

"Swan!" The yelling seemed to follow me up the field and I tried my best to pick up my already labored pace. "SWAN! STOP ALREADY, DAMMIT!" _Hah... never. Not til I finish what I started. _I couldn't be deterred from my goal at this point and I refused to stop til I knew I had done everything I could to make up for my mistakes.

For reasons unknown to me, I couldn't quite put a face to the voice shouting at me. It was familiar and I knew I knew it; I just couldn't quite place it. I suddenly heard and felt heavy breathing behind me and tried to out-run them at the expense of my screaming body.

The foreign breathing managed to catch up with me easily. I did my best to ignore the bouncing character next to me, but it proved to be quite impossible the moment it spoke. "So," it panted, "how long do you plan on doing this, exactly?" I sighed and was drawn to answer. "Until I'm done" I huffed back. Rude...yes. Necessary... _absolutely!_

I made a sharp turn at the end of the field and had to steady myself as I started to fall. It wasn't the first stumble of mine tonight, however, it was the first time someone caught me before I face-planted. "Woah, there!" the voice tickled to my neck. The strong arms that surrounded me burned on contact through whatever parts of me weren't covered by my bulky pads. Butterflies bubbled in my stomach and were beginning to spread from the contact when without warning the arms steadied me and let go.

My legs shook at the prospect of holding all my body weight and made to give out on me again, so I reacted the only way I knew how. I ran. "H-Hey! Aw, Come on Swan... You can't be serious...?!" he yelled after me. I had figured out who it was that was with me now and couldn't think of someone I wanted to see less during my emotional breakdown. _Alice maybe... nawww I'd take her on a sugar high before _him _right now..._

Edward made to follow me down the field for the rest of my set. "You ca-can't honest..ly believe that... you're gonna do th-this.. with me?" I finally questioned through heavy pants.

"Of course I am," he retorted. "I have no idea how many of these we're doing but seeing the shape you're in right now, it shouldn't be too much longer" he smirked. _Ass-Effin'-Hole. _I knew that I wasn't even near the strongest on the team but after that accusation I couldn't back down from any challenge. Sadly, that included my own ridiculous expectations of my after-game workout.

A voice chanted patronizingly in my head. _19 to go... oh, stupid one..._

EPOV

_What the fuck does this guy think he's doing?_ Seriously, this little turd seemed to always make trouble for me. I mean, yeah... he missed the game winning kick and all, but didn't he know who lost us the game? Did he not grasp the fact that _I _was the quarterback? That _I_ was the one that fucked up the last play? And that it was me, in the end, who lost us the game?!

Yeah, that's right, I knew I was a giant douche bag. If I had just gone along with the original play then Swan probably would have been able to get us that touchdown. But I couldn't do it. I saw the kind of wall that he was up against and something in me just couldn't do it. I mean, he would have gotten annihilated! Not that I care really, but he's still one of my teammates and I wouldn't want any of them hurt.

The play hadn't gone how I wanted, but passing to Black and leaving it up to him to survive sat in my stomach much better than Swan getting killed. I realize that it sounds like I have a total man-crush on the guy, but I don't. It has nothing to do with that at all actually. I just know who can take a hit and who can't. It was obvious now that I had made the wrong decision though.

I had let my team down as the quarterback, the playmaker, and the captain. And boy had coach let me know it too. He told me how I let my team down by not trusting the abilities of the others on my team and how I was being a selfish prick. But what else could I have done? I couldn't have let Swan get trampled in that pile and Emmett's injuries only reinforced that belief. Something needed to change though. I couldn't go through the whole season worrying about Swan when he had proven himself more than capable of handling the sport.

After the missed field goal the whistle blew to mark the end of the game and everyone walked off the field to regroup and line up. The whole time I couldn't get the vision of Swan's face out of my head. He was just so..._ tormented._ Like the whole ordeal was simply killing him from the inside out and I couldn't expect anything less. I felt the same if not worse. I had set him up for failure and yet he was going to be the one remembered for losing us the game, while the true culprit got away with a slap on the hand.

I kept to myself in the locker room while all the guys arranged their gear and headed out. Once the place was clear I couldn't hold my legs up any longer and I collapsed against lockers. I analyzed the entire game in my head, play by play. Each step I took and each pass I made I found error in and took mental notes of how many yards or extra points could have been won if I had come through.

When I was satisfied that I had dug up every single mistake of the night I pushed up off the ground to get my stuff together. I threw all my gear in my bag and tossed it over my shoulder to head back home. The lights around the field were still buzzing with life and the sharp smell of cut grass brought a small smile to my face. No matter how bad you played, the field was always there when you got back and always ready to claim again when you made yourself worthy the next time. It was a reassuring promise of improvement and forgiveness.

Something caught my eye as I was leaving and I wasn't sure exactly what to feel when I realized what it was. It was the lone figure of none other than Brandon Swan doing sprints, or what must have been at one point, across the field. His form seemed exhausted, clumsy, ragged, and yet… determined. I watched fascinated for what must have been at least 10 minutes when he tripped. He was on the ground and looked like he wasn't getting up. _Shit!_

I yelled his name in hopes that it would make him move before I got there but that was shortly over compensated. As I ran towards where he was he pulled himself up with shaky limbs and _kept running! What a fuckin nut!_ I swear I must have yelled at that kid fourteen times before I actually caught up to him. It's not that he was going lightning speed, but I was still a bit worn out from the game myself. The last thing I needed was to be running right after that kind of performance tonight.

I tried to make small talk in hopes that he would just shut down from over exertion but that proved to be incredibly difficult too. _Rude little prick…_ When he snapped back around and stumbled I thought for a second about watching him fall on his ass but couldn't do it. "Woah, there!" I breathed, catching him with ease. My arms started to burn wherever I was in contact with him and I made to drop him quickly. He was almost too soft… too warm… too perfectly fitted to me, even in pads. _Wait. Where the fuck did that come from?!?! NO! THERE IS NONE OF THIS PERFECTION SHIT! He smells, end of story!_

When I mosied my way out of my mental state it was to see him running away from me again. Was there seriously nothing that stopped this kid? I yelled after him to get his attention and get him to stop but he wouldn't slow up. _Stubborn bitch. _I sprinted to catch up to the little devil and for some reason he seemed surprised. "You ca-can't honest..ly believe that... you're gonna do th-this.. with me?" he sputtered out between shallow breathes.

"Of course I am," I huffed. "I have no idea how many of these we're doing but seeing the shape you're in right now," I gave him a quick scan and smirked. "It shouldn't be too much longer." I wasn't trying to piss him off but to any outsider it would certainly look that way. Truthfully, I just wanted him to stop whatever stupid stunt it was that he was trying to do. If that meant doing it right alongside him to keep him from getting hurt, then so be it.

I ran with him in silence for about 20 more minutes before what I was waiting for finally happened. He collapsed. We were in the end zone next to the uprights that he missed his kick through. I bent down to see if he was still breathing and lost a bit of my own breath. He wore a smug, victorious smile on his too-plump lips. Whatever his goal was, he had reached it. And as far as I was concerned, the field had forgiven him for his mess up and maybe mine?

With him completely out I picked him up and made my way towards the gate and essentially our bags. I would take him home to the chief's house and make sure he got a few days off from sprints at practice. God knows he had done enough of that tonight.

I had to make two trips to my car to get everything in but Brandon wouldn't fit comfortably in all of those bulky pads and his helmet. I opened up his bag so it would be ready for me to toss his stuff into. I started with his helmet and laughed a bit at what I saw. _Even in football he still wore a hat to hide his hair under the helmet._ Now that I thought about it I had never actually seen his hair. My hand twitched above the vinyl beanie just itching to remove it. I shifted my gaze away and decided that I would let him have that secret to himself.

I pulled his jersey and shoulder pads off his small body simultaneously with ease. I dumped it in his bag and zipped it up quickly before throwing it in my trunk. When I circled back around to his door to put his seat belt on, I froze. _What the fuck is that?!_

AN: OMIGOODNESS GRACIOUS GREAT BALLZ OF FIRE!!! I got the most amount of reviews on the last chapter than I have gotten on any of the other ones! That is freakin awesome cool!!! Seriously, if you guys keep this up then I would have enough to say that theoretically I have 10 reviews for every chapter I put out. That is freaking awesome!!! I'll just pretend that it was a birthday gift to me from my lovely readers! (8/8 yeaaa ima leo) So, I actually feel really bad for another cliffhanger, but I do get some credit for getting this one out before I usually do haha you know, like next Christmas updates haha

My super special reviewer this time goes to the lovely pkitten21! She made me some awesome stuff that's all technological and she is awesome! Woohoo! So, reviews make me happy and also cause me to feel guilty and thus update sooner. So go do it. I love hearing from you guys!!!

-mahoneybun


	8. Chapter 8

The weekend was unusually quiet and filled with reading, homework, and random spontaneous falls on my part. My body was the sorest it had ever been in my life. There were many times I would walk around the house and feel my legs give out on me. This lead to many awkward looks from Charlie when he would catch me just lying on the floor in various places around the house. Each time he seemed to be more and more amused til he was all-out laughing at me when he caught me draped across half of the kitchen table. _Jerk… _Couldn't he show a little compassion for his only child? … _Don't answer that._

The little workout I had after the game had done a real number on my body but that wasn't what I was concerned about most. See, I remembered running with Edward and I remembered finishing my sprints and collapsing (_Hell Yea!)_, but the next thing I could recall was waking up the next morning with only my pants and under-armor shirt on. There was no way my dad would undress me even if it were to take off my socks, let alone all my gear. The only other person I could think of was Edward. And that was not in my arsenal of happy thoughts I would use if Peter Pan ever decided to teach me how to fly.

I tried to avoid the sick yet gooey feeling I got whenever I thought of him taking off my pads and seeing what I really was. After Emmett caught me with my bra a while ago I had been debating whether I could do with just wrapping myself up. I couldn't count on everyone else being as gullible as Emmett. I tried just that a few days in a row and found that I was getting horrible rashes from not having any other protection around my torso. So, that ended that thought. I needed to wear it and if that meant that it was a bigger hazard to my secret, well then screw the secret. I always was one for comfort above looks anyway…

I had made up my mind a few days ago and I was ready to act on it. I was going to tell Alice my secret. I figured that if I could trust anyone she would be my go-to-girl. The Edward situation still un-nerved me, but there was no better time to tell her my secret then when I was in desperate need of advice. I needed someone to talk to that could understand all of my girl issues, someone that I could talk about boys with, someone that I could let my hair down with. _Literally._

Walking around the school the Monday after a game was always a trip. You would hear the girls chattering away about whatever new found loves and guys bragging about new conquests. If I took any life lessons away from my experiences here it would be that people are screwy. They always try to act like something they're not. They pretend so that people like them more for who they could be, instead of who they are. _What kind of fucked-up thinking is that anyways? Why can't people just be who they are and- … Shit._

I really needed to talk to Alice.

A slap on my back managed to pull me out of my pessimistic thoughts. _Guess who… _"Hey Brandon, ol' buddy, ol' pal" she smiled sweetly up at me. "Hey Alice! How're you? Fun weekend with Jasper that I get to hear about, I presume?" She gave me a small glare and a pout before letting out a small "maybe…"

Over the past couple of weeks we had been able to talk easily about her life and little daily experiences while she would probe me for football information. Most of the time she asked things like "Does Jazz put my scarf on before games like he promises?" or the infamous, "Do the pants look that good on all the guys or is he just _that_ well equipped?" I would answer the questions as best as I could while trying to hold back a blush each time. It was hard! "Yes Alice, every game he practically sticks it up his nose before tying it on" and "Uhhhh… Alice I-I don't think th-that's appropriate for me to answer…" Hey, I tried okay?

We would meet up in various places between classes and talk through the hallways. Every now and then Jasper would come along and pluck Alice away from our conversation long enough to ravish her in adorable little kisses and run off again with a huge smile like a bandit who stole something valuable. Jasper and I were pretty cool now that he knew I wouldn't try anything with Alice and he even opted for a few less "Swan Shooter" tackling drills. _Woohoo!_

After 3rd period Alice and I started our way towards the cafeteria for lunch and what I hoped would be a very positive conversation. Every step in line seemed long and drawn out. My body knew what was going down and it seemed to be in cahoots with my sub-conscious. I had to be very careful about how I did this because of Alice's hyperactive personality. You couldn't trust that chick to be calm and composed if the world depended on it and right now, my world seemed to. _Damn._

My food was taking on the now normal routine of moving and talking to me. If talking to Alice didn't help my culinary conversations then I really might have to start getting the salad. At least it wouldn't make me regret my life choices along with my dietary ones.

We navigated our way through the rows and Alice took the hint when I passed tables with friendly faces. Gosh darnit, I have veggies talking to me and boys undressing me without my knowledge, I needed help. She placed her tray down at an empty table and sat, patiently waiting for me to man-up. _Or girl-up really…_

_Here goes…_ "Al-" "So, did you have fun the other night?" she asked innocently. I couldn't help the open-mouthed gape I gave as an answer. I was finally gonna tell her and she wants to know if I had fun the other night?!

"Well Alice, considering I lost us the game, no I've had better nights. Why?" I scowled back at her overly- chipper attitude. "Well, I just assumed since you got to spend most of the night with your man-crush that you would be in a bit better mood." She lifted one delicate eyebrow before tucking into her lunchbox and pulling out her salad.

_Holy Shit! _How had she possibly known about that? Did she see us? I didn't see her but then again I did pass out on the field to the best of my knowledge, so she might have been there. Wait… had she seen what had happened after I passed out? _Gah! Just how much does this chick know?_

I looked up at the sound of someone clearing their voice and tried to hide the sheer panic from my face. Alice rolled her eyes and gave me a comforting smile. "Whenever you want to open up Swan, the floor is yours."

I was just so frustrated and nervous and confused that I thought I might burst out in tears and scream. Yes, I wanted to talk to her and yes, I was ready to tell her everything, but I wanted to know something first.

"Alice… just how much do you know?" Her straight face broke into a lovely smile that almost spoke for her. "I know enough to know that whatever it is that you're going to tell me has a very small chance of surprising me." I couldn't help but feel silly for stressing-out so much about something that should have been so obvious to someone like Alice.

I shuffled my feet under the table and looked down at my hands. "So, since you already know, I guess there's not much for me to say anymore-" I made to get up only to be slammed back into my seat by a threatening Alice. "Oh no. I want to make sure there are no mistakes here. Spill it." she growled. "But you already know, so why do I have t-" "Say it before I take off your hat and let everyone in on your secret!" I froze. "Gah! Fine! Imreallyagrl…" I mumbled. "What was that last part Swan?" she trilled. I consented. "I'm really a girl!" I growled back at her.

She giggled at me and covered my mouth with her hand. "Shhh… we don't want the whole school to know about it, do we?" She removed her hand to be greeted by my short-lived scowl. Her smile was just so damn contagious. "See? Don't you feel so much better now?" she questioned as she stood to throw her salad container away. I did. I felt a lot better. I now had someone to confide in about all of the drama in my life and I didn't have to carry it all on my own shoulders anymore.

I suddenly had the strangest desire to dance on the tables and burst into song, I felt so good. Alice saved me from that embarrassing act, however, by returning for her lunchbox and me. "So, I think that introductions are in order here Ms. Smith." She whispered as I got up to return my tray. A giddy laugh escaped my lips and earned me strange looks from some passersby on my way to return my tray. _Right, still a man… _I decided to pull something I never thought I would ever do. I winked at the girls giving me strange looks, including one such Jessica Stanley. I _winked_ at Jessica Stanley… I must have gone nuts. I got my desired effect when they visibly swooned and like that, my slight slip-up was completely forgotten.

"You know, you really shouldn't do that to the poor girls" Alice half scolded behind her smile. "Why? It got me out of deep shit. Haha, you don't think I'd be able to charm my teachers into letting me slide on a few assignments with that trick, do you?" I asked. As repulsive as it was, it still was better than having to do some of that boatload of work they were piling up on us.

"HAHAHA naw… I only know one person with those kinds of skills…" she giggled and nudged her head toward a table on the far end of the cafeteria. I should have known from that slight glimmer in her eye, but I was still surprised when I saw Edward Cullen at the table she was motioning to. _Of course he'd be the one._

We walked out the door towards the field where there were sure to be less people when she whipped her head back towards me. "Hey, I still haven't gotten a name here ya know?" "Oh haha, my bad! My real name is Isabella Swan, but I go by Bella." I stuck my hand out to "meet" her. She laughed. "You mean you go by Bella when you're not going by Brandon?" I gently palmed my face before attempting to explain. She interrupted me before I got in my first syllable though. "Wait, so, _you're _Bella Swan?!" I couldn't understand why this would shock her so much. "Yes?"

Her eyes got so wide she could have found the cure for the common cold. "So, that means you're Chief Swan's daughter?" I was lost. "Yeaaa, why is this so momentous?" She grabbed my shoulders and shook me little. "Are you kidding?! You're practically a legend around here. The princess of Forks if you will… They have a picture of you and Charlie a couple years back on the wall in the diner!"

I managed to roll my eyes while still in her grasp. "Alice, _everyone_ is on the wall in the diner, besides, being the chief of police's daughter is nothing to be worshiped about." She growled at me again and shook with annoyance. "Fuck yes it is Bella. You're almost like a town legend, like big-foot or the yeti." _Ouch…_ She noticed my face and rolled her eyes. "Okay, not quite like that, but you get my point. This is awesome!!!"

I let her continue her little rant of happiness 'hmm-ing' and nodding at all appropriate points until she caught my attention. "-Wonder if he caught on already… he's pretty smart so he probably has… But wouldn't he have confronted you about it? I mean the poor boy would have been pretty confused wit-" "Woah woah woah. Wait! What? What the hell are we talking about now?" I was lost… again. She gave me a calculating glance. "Well, Edward of course. I mean if he didn't have it figured _before_ the other night, then he for sure figured it out when you two were leaving."

I blanked. Everything was spinning and I couldn't really breathe anymore. Alice grabbed onto me again and started saying stuff to me that I couldn't understand to save my life. All that was going through my head was that he knew. I had thought it very possible before, but I had pushed that off as a long shot until now. Now Alice had confirmed my fears and boy was I scared. I trusted Alice with my secret because I had that kind of relationship with her, but Edward? I didn't want him to find out like that. What if he spread it around and I wasn't allowed to play anymore? What if he thought I was disgusting for even trying something like that? I couldn't deal with any of that happening.

I remotely became aware of people talking and a gentle pressure on my head. Blurry shapes moved around my vision without getting any clearer. I tried to blink the fuzziness away and brought my hands to my face to rub my eyes. Wet. I had been crying. I couldn't even remember starting to cry. I shot from my spot on the ground, mortified. I had become such a crying mess since this whole thing started and I couldn't understand it.

Once I was sure I had rubbed my eyes raw and there were no longer any tears I took the chance to look around me. Alice was sitting right next to me on the grass looking at me with a semi-relieved glance that seemed to hold something else in it… apprehension? I followed the path of her eyes to find what her apprehension was about. Kneeling on the other side of me was non-other than Edward Effin' Cullen. _I swear, I think that boy follows me and waits until all the worst moments for him to possibly show his face. Well, at least he's good at it._

"Uhh… hi?" I croaked. Alice quickly got up and went to pull me up with her but Edward beat her to it. His warm arms around me burned through my clothes as his hands crept dangerously close to my chest. My eyes started to roll to the back of my head when Alice cleared her throat and I jumped away. _What the hell was he trying to do?!_

"Hey, you okay Swan? You probably shouldn't be moving around too much." It was a simple enough question and statement, but he said it in an almost angry way. He ran his hands threw his hair and gave me an expectant look. "Yea, yea I'm fine" I lied. "Just passed out for a second…" I looked to Alice for any help, but she was glaring at Edward just as hard as he seemed to be glaring at me. She finally took her eyes away from his head and saw my look of distress.

"So… now that that's all cleared up, Brandon and I will be taking our leave. Thanks for your un-asked-for help Eddie, we really appreciate it." I hadn't ever seen Alice interact with Edward before but they looked lethal around each other. Where Jasper or Emmet would have backed down, Edward seemed to only engage more and I didn't know why.

As Alice and I turned to leave he pulled me back by my arm and yelled over his shoulder. "Swan and I have weight-lifting with the team right now and then practice. He'll talk to you later… after I get my chance." His last words were mumbled and drowned-out by Alice's useless yelling, yet I couldn't help but feel apprehension for what was to come.

He continued to drag me by my arm over towards the locker rooms and occasionally tightened his grip only to loosen it again. I tried to read his face from my bobbling position behind him. It was screwed-up into a grimace and his eyes kept scrunching and relaxing a bit as if he was having an internal battle with himself. As we neared the locker rooms he turned and pulled me near the wall to the equipment room just next to our destination.

"Okay, I don't know what you're playing at but it's not gonna work. Who- What the fuck are you?" he harshly whispered. My eyes were wide and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say. He knew. All doubt was gone now and only dread of how I was going to explain was left. But my mind was blank. I couldn't think of a word to say to him and tears started forming in my eyes.

"I-I don't know what you mean" I choked out in a weak whisper. His eyes got fierce and his nostrils flared. "Don't lie to me! I saw you!" My panicked eyes gave me away. "Yea, exactly. After your sprints Friday night you passed out on the field and I carried you to my car so I could give you a ride home. You wouldn't fit in all your gear so I took off your helmet and shoulder pads and guess what I saw?" It seemed his question was rhetorical, which was good, cuz I couldn't have answered.

His face blanched a bit before flaming up into a magnificent blush. He gulped, "I saw the outline of a bra under your under-armor…" He seemed to lose his momentum at this point and for the first time he looked ashamed. "I'm not going to judge you or anything like that, I just want to know what I'm dealing with… or I guess, who really." He looked down at me with pleading eyes and I couldn't deny him anything.

Something suddenly changed in the atmosphere and a small spark lit behind his eyes. I noticed now that our faces were mere inches away and my eyes shot down to his lips for only the second time since we met. His left arm was leaned against the wall above me, his right still holding tightly to my left. I was trapped and never happier about it. His eyebrows scrunched together slightly while his eyes penetrated mine. He blinked and his face grew calm. He had made his decision. He leaned down closer to me and tilted his head slightly. His breath swept across my face as his eyes slowly began to close…

"SWAN! CULLEN! GET YOUR ASSES IN THE LOCKER ROOM ALREADY OR YOU'LL BE LATE!" One of the coaches yelled from across the field. Edward jumped as far away from me as possible as I too tried to get away only to slam my head against the wall. _Shiiiiiiit!!!! That fuckin hurt like hell and the douche bag interrupted my kiss!!!_ I looked over to Edward through scrunched up eyes and he was giving me a worried look. He shook his head and let out a frustrated curse.

Sighing, I walked past him towards the locker room. I felt more than saw him follow me and swung open the door. The second I did I instantly regretted it and nearly died of shock. The intake of breath behind me told me Edward had seen it too but I didn't have the strength to look away, even if it was to see his face. A small whimper escaped him and I almost looked back if Emmett hadn't come into my view at that moment. I froze.

"Well… look which fags finally decided to turn up late for practice" he boomed jovially. He was wearing nothing but his football pants, his shoulder pads over his shoulder, and a bright orange bra. The biggest surprise however was that every other player was in various amounts of dress but all with one common factor. They were all wearing pushup bras and acting as normal as ever.

I looked over at Edward to gauge his response with my own and was met by a completely blank face. His eyes were wide and his face deathly pale. He moved his head slightly to look back at me and blinked before the inevitable happened… He fainted. I looked up to see the questioning looks of the other guys in the room. _God I wish I could faint on cue and pass out like him. Lucky Effin' Cullen…_

AN:

Yaaaaay!!! I updated!!! Hahaha omigosh! I asked you guys to get me to 70 and you guys went over and above to 85! I luvz you all soooo much hahaha I was actually bragging about my lovely reviewers to my friends and they couldn't understand my craziness, but it made me happy. SO, because you guys were so nice to me I made the longest chapter I have ever written! :D yaaaay!!! Don't eat me this is not a cliff!!! So yea, but the next chapter will give some light into Edward's pov. Which is always fun :] please review and let me know what you think. Do you think we can get to 100 REVIEWS??? :D well… it would make me happy anyways…

Special Reviewer of the week is… x-DREAMING-x HAHAHAH for the idea that Edward saw a huge spider at the end of last chapter!!! You have no idea how badly I wanted to use that hahhaa (maybe if I do bloopers I'll be able to use that. Awesome!)

Okay that was long, but until next time :]

-mahoneybun


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